The White Castle
by Usagi Squared
Summary: The 4th grade year has begun, and with it comes a mysterious new student... As well as a series of challenges that both he and Conan himself will find themselves tangled in, in a fight to prove just who the 'real Heisei Holmes' is. Rated M for language.
1. Prologue

**The Three Tasks**

It was a small town that the girl was passing through that day, the population scarcely above a few thousand. Cars, though few, puttered down the streets with rich men inside, paying the young child no mind. Most people were more intereted in parties these days; secret gatherings where alcohol, illegal or not would be consumed and jazz would be played.

The year was 1927. The girl, her clothes a simple kneehigh dress and jacket, weaved her way through crowds of chatting old women, gossiping teens, and rough men, giving not a single glance to any about her.

One of the buildings she passed had posters for lost and missing things. Posters for the white dog that ran away, for the purse that had been stolen and would likely not be returned. There was one that a young couple was looking at, covering their mouths as they spoke to each other.

"That poor boy, running away at such a young age, his parents must be worried stiff," cried the woman, her gloved hands covering reaching for her husbands. "What kind of child would do such a thing??"

The man shook his head, arms around the woman's waist. "I think this is all baloney, thats what! A kid runs away like that, I tell yah, there's somethin' wrong with the kid's folks!"

And the pair continued to talk about the missing boy with 'longer than usual' brown hair and grey eyes, the girl ahead continued to walk, ignoring them completely with a somewhat blank expression on her face.

Continuing to walk, she passed another group of people, these ones aged and holding books that had come in from Britain (or so she heard.) "Can you believe it Miriam...? I managed to get this book, I did. I bet you that there aren't many who can say they have the final collection of Holmes cases hmm?"

One of the other old women in the group merely tittered and frowned. "Honestly Ethel, I can't see how you can stand those tales... The man is horribly vain from what I read."

"But he's smart... And I tell you this, in a few years, this book will be worth as much as a small treasure it will! Did I tell you about the latest case? 'The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place', it's very chilling, but has such a nice ending, let me tell you..."

While the others in the group merely groaned and allowed the woman to continue, the girl passing them hazarded a glance at the book, before going on her way once more. Her pace was slow and controled, extremely controled for a girl of her age, brown hair scarcely moving from her back as she walked, her grey eyes turning to the roads in front of her again. Hands at her sides, she eventually turned down a backstreet road, heading for the edges of the town she was in.

It was not until later that, on the outskirts of town, in the wooded area where no one stood, she sighed, before taking a seat against the tree and staring at the sky. For a girl, she looked awfully unisexual. The expression, though similar to a typical girl, seemed more like it belonged on a boy's, or even a man's face. Her hands seemed slightly calused, clearly used to activity that young girls simply did not do. Still staring at the sky, the girl sat there for a fairly long time before speaking.

"Doyle... You could never remember a case properly, now could you...." The wind seemed to blow around her, as though to answer before she chuckled. "Then again, I suppose if they knew she was murdered by someone outside the family, it would cause a bit of a ruckus now wouldn't it. Fiction is fiction after all..." The girl sighed again, before standing up to leave the wood, wiping the dirt off her dress and dusting her hands off. "If it weren't, there would never be non-fiction..."

*********

AN: It's heeeeeereeeee.... First chapter, as you can guess, is much longer than the prologue. In fact, all the chapters will be. So be ready for something amazing! ...And totally mind-fucking. :D Because it will mess with your head so much when we get to the end. :D

Review and let me know what's up and what you're thinking guys!! ^____^


	2. Chapter 1

**Pride**

* * *

_In the bowels of the earth is an old, decades aged lab. Reminiscent of Frankenstein, an old man finds himself strapped to a metal table in the center of the room, not bothering to bring more harm by thrashing as men around him attach glass tubes to his body. The men wear normal suits it seems, covered by white jackets as they carefully handle the tubes with leather gloved hands. He does not know what is in the tubes, nor what is on the other end of them, hidden inside the odd metal canisters. _

_From across the room, a shadow looms. Suddenly, the old man looks up, narrowing his eyes as he mutters something incoherent. The muttering stops however, and, with the wave of the shadow's arm, the old man goes pale with horror._

_A foreign, green liquid, glowing a sickly colour suddenly flows through the tubes, entering his bloodstream as the old man stiffens and enters a state of shock. He grits his teeth, praying that this is the worst of things, but all the same, he knows full well that it is not._

_With the sound of siphining fluids and an aged man's harsh screams of pain, we return, almost one hundred years later.... To the future..._

* * *

The day had finally arrived, the kids thought as they looked around the new classroom with curiosity. April the 4th had arrived, and with it, to the excitement of a majority of the class, came grade 4. It would be a year they would all enjoy, that was certain. It would be a year filled with new kanji, new friends, new classes... It would bring them one year closer to Middle School, where they would wear uniforms and join after school classes.

There were very few in the classroom that did not seem to have the same excited expression as the others in the room. There was a bespectacled young boy in seemingly oversized clothes, a large change from his clothing prefrences a year before. When asked just why he prefered baggy jeans and t-shirts now however, here merely said he enjoyed the leg room; though his friend, beside him, would often mutter something about ruffled feathers, sparking a small battle of insults between the pair that no one else could hope to wrap their heads around.

Said friend was taking his seat at his new desk in room '4-B', near the front of the room and beside a boy around his height with dull brown hair and typically brown eyes. In great contrast to both the brown haired blue eyed friend behind him and the boy to his right, 'Hisoka Koji' had waist length white hair and green eyes; the class, needless to say, was certain that he was foreign, or at least partially foreign, though due to the fact that Genta, the 'strongest' in the class was 'friends' with him, most were to scared to say this to his face.

In fact, it was thought that even if the tanned, big-boned Genta wasn't there (Though he was ironically seated diagonally from Koji), Koji's general demanour would still scare the crap out of anyone who attempted to do so.

As Conan took his seat, he crossed his arms and stared at the empty chair beside him, eyes misting over as he recalled last year. Had it been that year, there would have been another one with the same bored expression... But at the moment, Ai was somewhere else, in the USA, with his parents, attending school there.

Deciding not to give too much thought into that anymore however, Conan looked at the name taped to the desk beside him with a frown. 'Shiroku... Hatsu...' The kanji shifted around in his head, each definition jumping out almost immediatly in the new name. 'Castle... Nine'... And 'Leaf... Steal'. His attention was pulled from the name to the front however, as Ayumi, across from that desk beside him, jerked her head to the front to get him to look the same way.

And just in time as well; the teacher had arrived, and oddly enough, another foreigner. It was odd, seeing a male teacher, as most men (for some reason) were teaching highschool classes... But perhaps it was actually because of the fact that he was foreign that he was there, teaching this class. Written in chalk on the board however, his suspicions of the teacher being foreign were lessened considerably.

"Good morning everyone, and a wonderful welcome to grade 4! Now," said the man, who according to the blackboard was named 'Koroshiya', "Before we start, we have a late entry I would like you to meet, he comes all the way from Sapporo..." There was muttering in the class- 'Sapporo'? As in the ramen company? Wasn't that up north, in Hokkaido? "Please give a warm welcome to Shiroku Hatsu-kun, who will be joining us for the next few years."

At Koroshiya-sensei's words, the door slid open, and a young, clearly foreign young boy stepped in. Most things about him (Beside the eyes, which were clearly not asiatic) went partially unnoticed to Conan. Casual clothes, brown hair, grey eyes... They were basic, common traits that many people in the country had, even if more would have black hair or brown eyes instead. But his hair.... Was long in the front and short in the back. As though someone had tied it all back in a pontail and just cut said ponytail off.

At least the front wasn't as long as Koji's... That would be REALLY weird. After Hatsu introduced himself, bearing no accent at all, the teacher pointed out the boy's seat and began the first lesson. The boy bore an expression similar to his own in terms of the lesson. Bored. As though he knew all this... Eventually, the silence prompted Conan to focus on his own boredom, as well as the clock, quietly waiting for the bell to ring for lunch.

-BZZZZZZZZZZZ- Speak of the devil! Conan jerked his head off the desk, blinking. Shoot.. He fell asleep... Lucky he wasn't called on that, or he'd be in for it.. Turning to see where everyone else was going, he watched as Hatsu merely grabbed the bento beside his desk and walked outside, ignoring everyone else with a bored expression on his face while the 'Shonen Tantei', Kiyoiri included (said girl sitting behind him with Kira in class), discussing something before they went after him. For a brief moment, the look-alike that was Kiyoiri turned to him, blinking. "Neh, Koji-kun, Conan-kun! Didn't you listen?? We're gonna ask Hatsu-kun if he wants to join the club!! He's really smart, he got everything done before the teacher had it assigned!!"

Before it was even _assigned_? He knew that it was generally easy to guess what would be next to learn in the class, but that was a little extreme wasn't it? It was at this moment however, that Kiyoiri's words completely hit, and, sharing a glance with Koji, he turned back to her. "Ah... Kiyoiri-chan? If he just got here, and he's not talking to anyone, you should probably give him his space for now..." Hatsu was, without a doubt, the 'new kid' in this situation after all; it would be best to let said new kid find his own niche... Then again, things turned out 'ok' when it happened to him he supposed...

Of course, he was hardly 9 or 10 at the time, now was he. In the end, he and Koji both stood slightly to the side of the group as they approached Hatsu at one of the benches outside, the boy looking up to see what could have been mistaken for a 'hit' group.

"...Yes?" Hatsu's face still seemed bored, as though this wasn't surprising at all. As he continued to eat the rice in his bento, he looked at the six kids in front of him with that same expression. "What is it?"

Ayumi was the first to speak, holding out her Shonen Tantei badge. "We were wondering... Since you seem really nice ('More like 'really smart' Conan thought), if you'd like to join our club, the Shonen Tantei!" Conan briefly wondered if they Hatsu would have a choice in the matter; it was likely that Genta would not give him one.

Hatsu in the meantime looked as though they were wasting his time. Staring at them with slight annoyance, he said "....Shonen... Tantei...?" 'Detective Boys'? "If it's called the Shonen Tantei, why are there two girls in it," he said, expression changing to a rather smart-assed smirk before he went back to his food. Mitsuhiko was instantly ready with an answer however, the only thing missing from his appearance as the 'know it all' being Conan's glasses.

"We're more often called the 'Shonen Tantei Dan', which comes from the books by Edogawa Ranpo! That's where we got the name! It has nothing to do with our gender!" He had a stern look, which greatly contrasted, the smirk on Hatsu's own face.

As the boy looked at the badges and at its members, the smirk seemed to... Widen a little. Just slightly, it was barely noticable. Koji himself looked slightly surprised, as a faint chuckle could be heard... Just a little. "Hn.... I think I will... But only if you let me eat lunch alone, alright?"

As Kiyoiri and Ayumi eagerly exchanged grins and agreed, the others nodded. "Hai!" Leaving, Koji and Conan just tailing behind them (Koji giving an odd look back at him over his shoulder), the kids dispersed out in the playground to start a soccer game. Meanwhile, Hatsu merely stared off and continued to eat his food.

"...Lets see just how worth you are of the title 'Heisei Holmes'... 'Edogawa'."

* * *

It wasn't long before Hatsu could be seen with his own badge hanging on his bag. Prefering not to pin it to his shirt, it gleamed in the sunlight to and from school in the children's eyes, at least until they split up. He would take the crammed subway back to his own house or apartment, where ever it was, while the others would continue on their way to their own homes. Aside from school, they never actually saw Hatsu, and it would seem that he prefered it that way.

It wasn't until half way through the month in fact, on the weekend, that Hatsu actually became involved with the group. Kiyoiri and Ayumi had both conspired together with Kira in a way that Hatsu would HAVE to join them and the others on the weekend for something. So, smiling, Kira told her that she couldn't help but 'give aid to an affiliate'; especially considering that had it not been for Kiyoiri and Ayumi, it was likely that she would have been badgered into the Shonen Tantei Dan herself.

At least, there would be many attempts and she would become extremely annoyed. It wasn't likely that she would give up her current 'career' for such trifle things, at least in her mind.

Nonetheless, Kira soon made her move, walking rather confidently over to Hatsu just after school ended. While it was unclear to those watching just what the two were saying, especially since neither changed their expression, it did, in the end, become obvious that Kira had succeeded. And so, standing in line at the mall arcade, the Shonen Tantei waited with mixed expressions varying from excitement to bordeom for the latest game for the 'VR Cocoon'; which was Kaimen Yaiba themed.

Already, the ones that were the most excited about the event were in one of the five cocoon pods; namely Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko. Kiyoiri herself didn't actually enjoy Yaiba that much, and was sitting outside the store on a bench beside Kira, eating an ice cream cone she'd bought, while the remaining three boys simply stood to the side... Bored.

For the longest time, neither said a thing to each other. Koji stared off into space, resting his head on one hand as the arm attached to said limb balanced on a raised knee. Conan, beside him, was busy playing solitare on his cellphone, having finally decided that if he couldn't leave, he mind as well do something other than stare blankly while imitating a zombie.

A comment which was quickly followed by a 'not that you look anything like a rotting corpse Hisoka' as soon as Koji turned to glare at his friend for that statement.

While the two boys did their thing, Hatsu merely leaned against the back of the bench they were on, arms and legs crossed while he seemingly stared around the room. He never kept his eyes on something for more than a few seconds really; one moment he would be staring at a gunslinging arcade game across from him, the next at the clock above the VR systems. Eventually however, even he stopped this, and the boy contented himself with pulling a book from his bag and reading it.

And then they heard the scream. "H-H-HELP!! SOMEONE!! CALL A DOCTOR!!!"

The reaction would have been amusing if things weren't so serious really. While people began scrambling about, Hatsu merely kept his position on the bench, staring off at where a young teenaged boy had just run out of the washrooms. Koji instantly lept up, looking over at Conan before running to the cocoons to help the kids out of them. In the meantime, the latter of them rushed to the enterance of the store, weaving around and under people if he needed before blocking the doors off.

"What?? What's your problem kid?" Obviously, those inside were not ammused. "Get out of the way!!"

Conan didn't budge, instead looking directly up at the people in front of him. "If someone has been attacked, or maybe killed, then they will need to look for anyone involved with that attack; which means that, in this building, one among you could be the culprit."

Before anyone in the crowd could complain, the game store owner, to their surprise, came to stand beside him. "The boy is right; it could be anyone in here. I've called the ambulance now, as well as the police. If we're lucky, the victim will still be alive. Now why don't you all make yourself useful and take a seat, maybe prepare yourselves for when they arrive?" Conan looked up at the gruff store owner, blinking with mild surprise. Someone on his side? That was new.

It helped considerably however. Not wanting to get on the bad side of the store owner, most took a seat along the games in the room, or simply leaned against the walls. Within a few minutes, things were calm, the paramedics having no trouble in carting and aged old man in equally as old (And likely dirty) clothes. The mans eyes were screwed shut, one of the paramedics holding a hand to his chest he noticed. If that was the case...

"Stab wound, more specifically a slash to the ribs." Conan looked beside him as Koji watched the man get taken away, still listing off a few other things. "I managed to get into the washroom to get a look... I figured you wanted some info... Who ever did this isn't that experienced; a slash to the ribs will get you nothing but bleeding, and it's more difficult too get to a point where it's even partially fatal. If someone was to attack with a knife, it would either need to be a direct stab in the chest, or, going with slashing, across either the neck or the guy. The victim is probably just in shock." He seemed almost insulting at that last part, as though shock was a pathetic way to end up in an ambulance.

"Hn..." Thinking, the boys both looked up as a few police officers came in, one in particular bending down with a smile.

"Ah... Conan-kun, Koji-kun! How are you?"

Conan was first to speak, giving a smile as he turned to Takagi. "Great! ....Where's-"

"Ah... M-Miwako is stuck in the office... Megure-keibu thought it would be better for the baby if she didn't bring it to crime scenes... Ahahaha..." Behind Takagi, Shiratori visibly shuddered at the memory of that fact. Satou had not been happy about that. At all.

Back to the crime scene... As the police filed in, the store owner began speaking with Megure, before the inspector turned to Takagi and waved him over.

A few seconds later, people began filing out of the store, the remaining being the Shonen Tantei and four people; the one who screamed, Yashiro Seichi, age 16 had literally gone in and gone out when he found the victim, a 'Shinsou Ken', collapsed on the floor and groaning, blood covering the old mans shirt.

The other three had all entered the bathroom at least once, according to the oddly perceptive store owner, 'Suoh Ryu', as well as himself, bringing the suspect count from four to five. As for the other three...

An elderly, yet clearly young-at-heart woman stood alongside a much younger woman and a middle aged, overweight man. These were the suspects... And as Conan prepared to do as much investigating as most of the Shonen Tantei planned to do, Hatsu merely remained where he sat, staring intently at the group.

The old woman, Hinomori Tayuya, was crossing her arms, her long but clearly grey hair pulled back from her wrinkled face. She was a good friend of the victim, and was worried, if not in her own way... That way being that she was plenty pissed at the police for not allowing her to go with the man to the hospital.

The overweight one ('Just say 'fat' already' said Koji) on the other hand, kept looking back and forth, picking at his clothing. He was incredibly nervous, as he had appearantly left the washroom for only a few seconds before the victim bumped into him. 'Tsunomi Otoha' left fairly quickly after that.

Last of all... The victim's great niece, 'Shinsou Kimi', had been waiting outside the washroom for her grand-uncle to come out, when she finally asked another nearby, namely Yashiro, to check on him. At the moment, she was merely pale, and refusing to answer any questions further than what had been found out.

As for evidence... Aside from any blood on the bathroom floor, near the door, there was none. The kids looked and spoke amongst themselves, and, within a few seconds, their work began, the witness and the game store owner crossed off the list almost immediately; According to Conan, neither had been in there long enough to do anything at all, and Koji immediately knocked them off with scent... Not that they knew that particular fact, but the two boys assured everyone that they were right.

First target: Hinomori. The interogators? Ayumi and Kiyoiri.

"Ano... Obaa-san?" The woman looked down as the two girls approached, her arms crossed as her stern expression changed to a light smile.

"Hm? Now what are two little ones like you doing hanging around this place? A crime scene isn't the place for you rascals..."

Undettered, Ayumi chose to ask her questions first, Kiyoiri holding a notepad and pencil. "We're from the Shonen Tantei Dan, and were wondering if you could answer our questions Obaa-san!"

The woman's expression remained unchanged, and she actually crouched down to make the 'interview' easier. "Alright... Gives me something to do while they keep me here rather than letting me see Sou-kun..." The smile seemed to falter at that last part, and Ayumi and Kiyoiri looked at each other.

"Ano," Kiyoiri held her pencil, speaking. "Are you good friends with him?"

Hinomori nodded, her smile now a stern face similar to the expression held when questioned just minutes earlier. "That's right; we've known each other for a very long time... Since we were your age in fact. If something were to make things worse in that hospital..." She drifted off, before saying something that Ayumi laughed nervously at while Kiyoiri actually went white. "...I might just have to kill someone..."

Seeing Kiyoiri's face, the woman quickly stood up and laughed it off. "Ahahah! You kids are a hoot... Why not go talk to someone else ne?" The two walked off, no better than they started, though Ayumi idly noted that the woman was missing the bag she had when she came in.

The second target... Kimi. Interrogators for this one... Mitsuhiko and a grudgingly following Koji. While Koji merely stood behind the eager boy with his hands behind his neck, said boy was holding another notebook and tapping Kimi's shoulder. It took a few taps, but eventually the shaken girl turned, arms wrapped around herself. Mitsuhiko instantly remebered where he'd seen the girl.

"K-Koji-kun..." He whispered lowly, hoping that Koji could actually hear him. "My sister goes to school with this girl... They're both in the theatre club..." The nod from the boy told Mitsuhiko the message had gotten across. Looking back at her, Mitsuhiko coughed and began the questioning.

"Ah... We were wondering if you could answer some of our questions..."

The girl continued to hold herself, looking down with a mixed look of scorn and misery. "Why? So you can make me feel worse? My uncle could be _dead_ now, because I didn't say anything until it was too late."

Koji rolled his eyes, interrupting Mitsuhiko's attempt to give a good reason. "He's not going to die. His ribs weren't even broken, if anything, he's just suffering from shock, and given that he's in a hospital at least, he won't die from that." Sheesh, stupid kids... How was it that the 'Shonen Tantei' knew more about the human body than someone who should be taking biology or first aid or something...

Kimi glared at the boy, while Mitsuhiko coughed again. "Ah.... We were wondering... What exactly happened before you asked someone to check on your uncle?"

"Nothing... I already told them this, go away!" As she left, Koji blocked her way, and she scowled. "Look I... I didn't hear anything ok! He just pushed past that old guy over there and shut the washroom door! Now leave me alone!!"

As she left, Koji looked at Mitsuhiko, mouth still open as he ran his tongue along the bottom of it. "So!.... You get anything from that?"

The dumbstruck look from Mitsuhiko told him he wasn't the only one who didn't get anything.

Perhaps, the results would be different with 'Target Three'; Tsunomi. Walking over to the old, 'large' man, Conan mentally sighed as Genta prepared to give the 'interogation', mentally adding the fact that 'an interrogation is meant for after arrest...'. Approaching the man, Genta cleared his throat to gain the elder's attention. "Ehn... Oji-san?"

The man looked down, still picking at the sweater, as though warm. "Y-Y-Yes?? What is it??"

Genta seemed to be slightly caught off by the man's reaction, while Conan narrowed his eyes a bit. This guy was pale... Extremely pale... Nonetheless, Genta moved on. "Ah... We were wondering, Oji-san, what happened when you left the washroom."

"Washroom, w-what?" He blinked, as though he had forgotten all about it. Then, he half jumped from some sort of non-existant epiphany. "R-Right... Washroom.. H-He bumped into me... And slammed the door right behind me, that's r-right..."

By this point, it was quite clear to both boys that the man was not just pale, but also sweaty. "O-Oji-san, are you alright..?" The obvious question brought up by Genta was at least a good one, Conan thought, though the man shook his head 'yes'.

"Fine! I'm... Just fine! I..." He looked at his hands, before shivering. "M-my badge is gone... He... He must have taken it but I... I'm fine, I'm just...." Tsunomi's breathing quickened, and Conan's eyes widened.

"Genta-kun. Go get either Takagi-keiji or another officer... Right now.."

Genta looked at Conan, nodding, but not moving. "Er... What do I tell them-"

"He's going into shock, get them NOW!" As Genta ran off with a confused and oddly fearful look on his face (Conan never yelled like that, _never_; while he would probably question him on it later, now was probably not the time. This 'shock' was probably deadly whatever it was.), Conan turned to focus his attention on Tsunomi. "Oji-san... Do you think you could sit down a bit? You look pale, I think you need rest..."

The only problem with knowing first aid when you were supposedly 10 was the same as knowing how people were killed when you were supposedly 6; no one would believe you unless they themselves knew for a fact that you were indeed correct. If he was going to help this man, he would need to play it safe. Briefly, in the back of his mind, he recalled that the man did have a pin earlier...

Well, he would need to talk to this guy anyways. As the man sat down, Conan looked around for where Genta was. Shoot... He was having trouble being convincing (maybe he should've gone himself... No, then he wouldn't be able to help HERE.). In the meantime, he turned back to Tsunomi. "Ano.. Oji-san? Are you cold?"

"N-No.. T-Thank you, you're v-very thoughtfull..." Alright...

"Do you maybe... Need anything at all, some water..?"

Tsunomi looked at Conan with a bit of confusion; why was this boy going out of his way to help? "Th-That would be nice..."

"Oii, Megane, we just finish-" As Koji walked over, he looked from Tsunomi to Conan and almost face-palmed. "Oh dear god you can't be serious..."

Conan however, looked thrilled. "Just in time, Hisoka! Could you get Tsunomi-san some water?" The boy was answered with a look that said 'you're fucking kidding me...', but Koji did indeed turn around to find a paper cup. Looking back at Tsunomi himself, Conan chose to question him on the badge. "Ah... Your badge... What was it?"

This seemed to work a bit; now Tsunomi was focusing on speaking rather than the fact that the badge (And the person who might be dying, likely the reason he was in shock) were missing. "It's a.. A very nice... A very nice flower... It points out, like this... A-And.... yea..."

Scratch that, he was fading. Koji came back with water at this point, handing it to Tsunomi, his muttering just barely audible to Conan. "Sheesh, didn't see anything and he's in shock..?" At those words, Conan's eyes widened.

That's right... Tsunomi hadn't seen anything except for Shinsou leaving on a stretcher. Even then, that would have been obscured by crowd. He obviously wasn't worried about the man, since he barely knew him, but if he was going through shock, when blood wasn't getting to the heart fast enough... What would have triggered it if-

Running towards the crime scene just as Genta rushed past with Chiba, Conan's own heart was beating madly. If he was right....

Then this could very well change everything about the case.

And as Conan ran, Hatsu's eyes did not leave the boy until he was no longer visible, body unmoving from his position on the bench. If he was right... And he probably was...

3 minutes later, the suspects would be gathered to hear the truth... All of it.

* * *

AN: DUN DUN DUUUUUUN~ First chapter is out! A christmas special for 24 Days in 7 months might be coming out in a week or so as well depending on how much time I have... But if not, Happy Holidays everyone! And for those in my area, a happy boxing day as well! ;)


	3. Chapter 2

**Desire**

* * *

_The old man stands above a grave, name worn by memory rather than weather. But he knows who it is that is buried there. He would never forget a friend such as this. At the grave sits flowers of all sorts, from friends, and from children, some even from grandchildren who, recently, have almost completely sunk into the world, away from the miniature fame of their grandfather._

_The man stares, contemplating things that will likely never be understood completely by the world. Finally, he drops a single flower at the foot of the grave, and worn, wrinkled hands place a still smoking pipe beside it. "You look as though you could use a smoke, my old friend..."_

_For a moment, as he stands up, there is nothing but silence. The wind blows, gently, calmly, as though to comfort or to even hold close. The world however, suddenly grows black. A loud 'thunk' noise is heard, and the man collapses. Across the grave, a few drops of blood fall, matching the colour of the single poppy on the grave... And we return 100 years later..._

_Back to the future..._

* * *

As the police came to gather the suspects together, a few of them watched slightly confused as Chiba reassured Tsunomi (Who was fairly apparent to the fact that something was wrong with _him_ once an officer arrived) that nothing was wrong, and he would be alright. He had a blanket covering him, regardless of the fact that he claimed he wasn't cold; he wasn't complaining that he was warm either after all.

The ambulance had, of course, been called for soon after it was realized that one of the suspects was entering shock. But as the suspects were gathered and Conan returned to the group that was the Shonen Tantei (save Hatsu), it was apparent that the rest of the kids were rather clueless as to why. They knew, quite obviously, that the case had been solved... But how, they did not know.

It was not the time for such thoughts however, as Conan pulled them over by the police, a smirk in place as a few others soon picked up on what was going on. Standing by the police, he waited as Takagi spoke.

"Ah... We're sorry to keep you here for so long... However, we believe we may have found the culprit for the attack already-" A short cough from below cut him off slightly, and, after looking down to glance at the boy, he corrected himself. "Though we also have reason to believe that this was not in fact an attack but an accident."

The yelling started almost instantly. "An accident," roared Hinomori, "My foot! A cut that big!?"

While Kimi, beside her, also voiced a similar opinion, Tsunomi beside them seemed to grow even paler, breathing increasing despite Chiba's attempts to calm him down. "Could you all please stop yelling," he finally said as he turned to the group and frowned. "You're not helping matters at all..." Turning back to the man, he checked the pulse and attempted to continue what he had been doing before.

Meanwhile, Takagi continued his own work. "Yes, an accident. But before we go into that..." He walked over to Tsunomi, crouching down and looking at Chiba briefly. Receiving a nervous nod that plainly said 'be careful', he spoke to the man, hoping that the ambulance came before the poor guy lost consciousness. "Tsunomi-san... You said you dropped your badge but, both the hospital staff and the officers here have seen no sign of it. If you don't mind, could we please search your pockets for it?"

The man scarecly had the strength to speak it seemed; he only just nodded, eyes fluttering as Chiba quickly started asking him pointless and conversational questions to keep him awake. While Chiba did this, Takagi pulled out a pair of rubber gloves, and began his work.

Back with the others, the 'kids of the group' were eager for answers, which Koji was attempting to get from Conan. "So... Megane..." He looked at him, getting no more than a small smile from the boy. "What exactly went on that we're missing out on?"

Conan shook his head, waving them off. "You'll see; but for now, you actually need to be kept in the dark. Other wise," he looked back at Takagi, who appeared to have found something, "No one will be able to truly tell what happened here."

Takagi walked back to the others, holding the badge to the forensics crew as they wiped a small sample of something from the badge. "Thank-you," he said, bowing his head as the team went off to continue their work at the scene itself, before turning to the others. "This is Tsunomi-san's badge; He was wearing it over his heart before the accident occurred. Now, from what we can tell, from most witnesses, it's clear that Tsunomi-san exited the washroom before being pushed past by Shinsou-san. What we didn't know however, was this..." He turned to the kids, smiling slightly before continuing nervously. "If you would, Conan-kun?"

The witnesses and suspects turned to the kids, Yashiro frowning. "O-Oi, you aren't telling me you got your evidence from those guys are you? Is... Is that reliable, I mean..." The look from Shiratori and Megure that came from behind Takagi silenced the teen, and Takagi clarified.

"Ah... Yes well... They were asking you three questions during the investigation it seems, and a bit of what was discovered is quite important to the case..." Turning to the kids again, Takagi watched Conan coughed before turning to the others.

While most of them looked rather confused, there was a look in Koji and Ayumi's eyes that seemed to say 'I get it now...'. Conan spoke first, hands in his pockets as his smile became a more serious expression. "When we were asking questions, we went in groups. Hisoka," Koji visibly winced as he recalled the encounter with the one he helped question, though it seemed Conan was a better actor in this case, "And Ayumi-chan questioned Kimi-neesan and Hinomori-neesan respectively." Ignoring the eyebrow that Hinomori gave at the 'neesan' comment (She expected an 'obaasan', but she supposed he was being polite.), he went on.

"From Ayumi-chan and Kiyoiri-chan, we didn't get much; Hinomori-neesan may have been in the washroom at one point, but she was not there when Shinsou-san was cut. And Kimi-neesan also wasn't inside, but, she did see something that helps to find out what happened." Turning to Koji, he smiled. "So... What side is the door to the washroom on?"

Koji blinked, before smiling as well. He did not have time to speak however, as Kimi suddenly scowled and yelled after them. "What does the door have anything to do with this! I already know who you're saying attacked my Uncle, why do you need to draw this out!! It's HIM, isn't it!!?" As she pointed to Tsunomi, the man's eyes widened.

"N-No, I... I didn't kill... I didn't... I didn't do anything no!" Chiba looked at the man with wide eyes, the pulse quickening below his fingers.

"C-Calm down Tsunomi-san, you're alright... No one is saying you killed any one.... Psst! Shiratori!!" He jerked his head towards Kimi, his own eyes wide as he attempted to keep the man from giving himself a heart attack. "It's alright, Tsunomi-san, now if you could just breath in and out slowly..."

"Why are you even helping him!? He did it!! I- Hey!!" Kimi was quickly grabbed from behind by Shiratori, the girl no longer holding her shocked and frightened act together. "Let me go!!"

Shiratori merely frowned, shaking his head. "I need you to come over here; one casualty is enough for now." Pulling her away, Shiratori soon disappeared with Kimi, the others left to turn back to themselves. After a short bit of awkward silence, Hinomori was surprisingly the one to speak.

"I believe you were about to tell us how it came to be that my friend was injured, am I right kids?" She smiled; she knew full well from how things were going that it was indeed an accident. There was no need for over exaggeration now.

Koji, who was slightly miffed about being interrupted so strongly, blinked, before coughing. "R-Right... The door is on the left going into the hall; that means that whoever going in would be aiming for the left side. So..." He turned to Conan, continuing when he received a slight nod that told him he was going in the right direction. "If someone were to shove past whoever was coming past-" He stopped, frowning.

Takagi as well frowned, having realized the hole in the theory. "If that were to happen, it would have been his arms that were gouged open..."

As another awkward silence settled, paramedics filed in with a stretcher. Chiba was more than happy to allow them to take things over as they reassured Tsunomi that they were there to help... And in a few minutes, they left, Tsunomi bundled on a stretcher and bound for the hospital.

Silence settled again, before some squirming caught Ayumi's attention. Turning to Kiyoiri, she blinked. "Kiyoiri-chan... Are you al-"

"Ayumi-chan... I have to go...." The girls face was screwed up into a grimace, her legs twisted around awkwardly. "But we're supposed to stay here..."

Her friend knew just what was wrong immediately, and coughed. "Er.... I'm sure that if you just ask they'll let you Kiyoiri-chan..." She looked around nervously, face slightly red with embarrassment.

"But you're not supposed to go into a crime scene!" Kiyoiri made sure that her 'shout' was no louder than a hiss, however, by this point, Koji had heard plenty.

Turning to the girls, Koji sighed and crossed his arms. "Kiyoiri... If you have to use the washroom, just say something..." Unlike the girls, his voice was plenty loud, and everyone turned.

"K-Koji-kun!!"

"Whaaaat??"

While Suoh came over to lead Kiyoiri to the staff washroom, Hinomori chuckled. "Hmhmhm... Women are so much more modest than men, aren't they kid?" Ayumi nodded, with an understanding yet wide eyed look on her face while Koji scowled. Sheesh, if she had to go, she had to- "Sou-kun... He would be rude and polite all in one; he used to wait until the last minute to go, so much it looked like he was-" She cut herself off, coughing as she remembered that her audience was a group of nine and ten year olds. "Never mind... You kids make me say things I shouldn't, you know that?"

Koji blinked as the woman said this. Wait, when she said it looked like he was... Doing something, did she mean... He turned to Conan, his face a good example of disgust and confusion while Conan mirrored it. From what the spectacled wearing boy could tell... She had been about to say something pretty adult-appropriate.

At that exact moment however, his eyes shot wide open with realization. "T-Takagi-keiji!" The officer turned to Conan, blinking as the boy continued. "Takagi-keiji... What would happen if..." Whispering in the mans ear, the others in the room watched as the elder's face moved from curiosity, to confusion, to understanding... Combined with a bright red, flushed face.

"W-Well... I suppose you're right... Though..." Takagi coughed, before turning to the rest. "Hinomori-san... You said that Shinsou-san was both 'rude' and 'polite' about these things... How exactly was he doing that?"

The old woman blinked, staring at Takagi before turning away slightly and answering. "As I was telling the kids, he'd wait until the last minute, by which point he would be barreling through to the nearest washroom..." She coughed, going red as she continued. "He'd have his hands down as though protecting something precious by then, let's put it that way..." With those words out of the way, she broke into chuckles, the men and boys of the room laughing along nervously.

Ayumi was first to speak while everyone did this oddly enough, a smile on her face as she caught on to what this meant. "Ahh... If that's the case... It's likely that Shinsou-san ran to the washroom and pushed past Tsunomi-san with his arms down! So his chest wouldn't be protected!"

The others turned to her, Conan smirking and picking up where the girl left off. "And if that's the case then Tsunomi-san's left side would come in contact with Shinsou-san's left side, cutting him open from that end to the other by the force of Shinsou's running."

Hinomori frowned at this point, crossing her arms. "That's all good kids, but now how about you explain why he didn't notice he was bleeding, or at least cut?"

"Because of the adrenalin..." A look of sudden realization dawned on Takagi, and he turned to Hinomori with confidence. "Shinsou-san would have been set on making it to the washroom quickly; he likely failed to notice until the adrenalin rush from the run wore off, by which point the blood had bled out enough to put him into shock- The paramedics cut a jacket off him as well, which shows that it was even less likely that he would realize the badge cut through his body as well as the jacket!"

Walking forwards, one of the forensic officers came to Megure, before saying something. "Keibu... The blood test is positive for the victim's blood type. They're right."

Megure nodded, turning to the others. "Hm. Then, by that same force, the pin likely fell off and to the ground..."

"And, seeing the blood on his badge and hearing about what happened, Tsunomi-san probably went into shock, believing that he had killed him..." At this point, everyone turned to Koji. How the hell did he knew about what caused shock...? "Er... Megane made me sit through some documentaries with him..."

Conan glared at Koji as the police took the response, the case soon wrapping up neatly. "Tch... What are you doing using my excuse..."

"Who said it was yours, 'Karasu'?"

"K-Karasu!?" As a toned down insult battle began breaking out, Kiyoiri ran back from the washroom to frown.

"Koji-kun!! Conan-kun!!" The boys turned to her, before coughing and turning away from each other. "Really...." She turned to the other boys, who were turning away and now 'whistling'. "How come you two didn't do anything??"

While excuses flew as the girls chewed the boys out (regardless of the fact that Ayumi had been ignoring the boys as well), Conan found himself looking over at Hatsu with a frown. Was he... Smiling? Come to think of it, he'd done nothing but sit there the entire time.

It was normal for the current group to accept the blood and crime of the area true; they were used to it by now, having been desensitized by the constant exposure. But... How could Hatsu simply _sit_ there?

One of many questions he would have to ask, he thought to himself, walking over. Before he could even speak however, a familiar voice caught his attention first.

"Hatsu-kun!" Conan turned with shock as the teacher came rushing in, hands on his knees as he looked down at the boys. "Ah, and Conan-kun, hello..." He bowed his head, before turning to Hatsu. "Hatsu-kun, I've been looking everywhere... I thought I asked you to call to let me know where you were..."

Hatsu merely shrugged. "I called- You didn't answer."

"You could leave a message!"

Another shrug, and Koroshiya groaned. "Right... Well come on; we still need to get some groceries before getting home, alright?"

"Koroshiya-sensei... Are you...?"

The teacher looked down, Hatsu already hopping off the bench to make way for the door. "Ah... Hatsu-kun is a relative of a friend's; he asked me to look after him while he's here. Why, was there something you needed to say to him?"

Conan blinked, pausing as though about to say something important, before shaking his head. "Ah... No... I just wanted to know if he wanted to stop by to play with Hisoka and I tomorrow at his house, that's all..." He could talk to him there, he thought, in the room that Koji had found earlier that year.

"Alright. I'll let him know." As Koroshiya bowed his head again and turned to leave, he waved at the kids, smiling. "I'll see you tomorrow kids!" And with that he left, Hatsu following behind. As they left, Conan could see them turning to each other... And at the last second, Hatsu seemed to give the slightest of smiles. Shaking this off, Conan turned to go tell Koji about these new plans of his.

Koji however, was obviously not very pleased with the plans, as he frowned the moment Conan mentioned them. "...Why in there."

He shrugged, before smirking. "It's a good place. No surveillance, and even Shuichi-niisan won't be able to get in."

"Which is exactly why it's a bad idea. You might not be questioned. But I will." As Koji narrowed his eyes, he also gave an involuntary shudder; Akai was enjoying the fact that he was to play the part of Koji's guardian far too much... And had taken to questioning Koji whenever he went missing, which annoyed the 'boy' to no end.

Conan merely stared back at Koji before snorting, covering the slip-up quickly with a comeback. "Then I'll ask him to stop; it's not like he'll go too far with things after all..."

Koji did not appear to agree, but, eyes narrowed down to slits as he exhaled audibly, he nodded. "Fine... I still don't see why you can't find somewhere else though. Even a graveyard would be better..." There was a short pause before he quickly added, "Wait... No, not it's not. Kira's always there."

Ahahaha... How true...

* * *

Walking home with Koroshiya that night, Hatsu stared up at the stars, stopping momentarily on the sidewalk as he clutched the plastic bag in his hand. Said plastic bag held typical cooking foods... Some chicken, some pork, onions, soup stock, a leek... The boy shook his head, moving on to catch up to Koroshiya.

"So... When did they say they wanted to meet me?"

The teacher looked down, frowning slightly. "Ah... I believe tomorrow.. Make sure you CALL this time though, alright!"

Hatsu merely smirked, nodding. "Hai hai..." Quite honestly, the teacher wasn't as threatening as he would like. In fact, he thought to himself, the man was actually quite fun to mess with.

They continued to walk off, the lights of the city mostly obscuring the stars above as they went. It was late, Hatsu noted, but it wasn't like things would be too bad... Not as though he didn't know what to answer in class anyways... Though he wished that Kira hadn't used 'that' against him. The memory brought a light frown, but at the same time he had to resist the urge to chuckle. Who knew there would be someone who could pull up such a pathetic fear in his face like that?

* * *

Monday came far too quickly, even if it was the 'next day'. Lunch came even quicker in Hatsu's opinion, and before he knew it, Genta and Mitsuhiko, along with Kiyoiri and Ayumi stood over him, the boys shadows looming just a tad ominously. "Oii Shiroku-kun..." It seemed Hatsu had refused to allow them to call him 'Hatsu-kun'. "How come you didn't help out at all yesterday??"

Hatsu did not look up from his food, which had clearly been packed by someone other than himself. "You never said I needed too, now did you?"

"It's kind of implied, Shiroku-kun..." As Hatsu looked up, Mitsuhiko 'eeped' slightly, wishing he hadn't said that.

Ayumi and Kiyoiri however, were right there to back the boy up. "It's true," Ayumi said, turning to Kiyoiri and back to Hatsu. "When a case happens, no matter what, everyone helps out!"

"Yea, otherwise, it's not a club effort!" As Ayumi nodded in agreement to Kiyoiri, Hatsu sighed and closed his bento box, crossing his legs and resting his head on one arm.

"Well then... Did a single one of you consider that I might not know what to do in such a situation?" This caught the four off guard. Even Genta, who would normally have something to say, looked at the other three with a frown. He... He had a point...

Coughing, Genta moved to cross his arms. "W-Well... You could always say something then! But club members should be active! We'll help you if you need it, but you need to let us know!" Mitsuhiko and the others looked up, slightly surprised at the fact that Genta had come up with that on the spot. The boy in front of them however, was unamused, and unfazed, merely waving them off as he went to open his lunch up again.

"Hai, hai... Then the next time, perhaps I will. Now, let me eat." If he didn't eat his food... Koroshiya would be all over him...

The kids shrugged mostly, and walked off as Mitsuhiko eagerly suggested 'hide and seek' for that day's game, before Ayumi started talking about having gym later.

Hatsu blinked, his chopsticks halfway to his mouth as he sighed. Gym? Great...

Just... Wonderful.

He hated P.E....

* * *

AN: Ohoho~ Yea, I had to get this one out. It might be shorter than the standard for this fic, but it's still good in my eyes. -w- Plus, if I dragged it out it would suck. xD

AAAAAANND in other news! The first person who guesses where the chapter titles come from, more so if they guess the specific title of what it came from, gets to request an event for a one-shot in 24 days in 7 months, provided it isn't a major holiday! They can even go so far as detail the events they want... I'm not giving any 'real' hints for this, since it'll become fairly obvious as time passes, but I can tell you this; What this comes from is at least a small number of years old. It also has nothing to do with anything I have written about so far.

Good luck, and for the sake of my writing ability, review!


	4. Chapter 3

**Tenacity**

* * *

_He solved one more case. His last case, he decided, as he returned to his home in the country. He had been selling some honey to a neighbor, when news of an odd line of murders and thefts was brought to light. So... For the sake of an old friend, he took up the mantle of investigation once more._

_A case of a large web of oriental criminal activity, rivaling that of Moriarty had been what he found. But, in favor of a peaceful life, he contented himself with allowing the culprit for the murder that his friend wanted, deciding to allow the authorities to handle everything else. He himself would disappear back into the shadows..._

_But he knew... The day that he returned home, that someone was watching. There was a feeling, deep in his old bones, that something was about to __**happen**__. All the same, he had an old friend to visit, he told himself, clutching the poppy and pipe in his hands._

_And besides... Even if he were to die now, so be it. He was too old to run now, and it was time he see his friend again..._

_And as the shadows glare from the darkness, we return, 100 years later... To the future..._

* * *

It hadn't really hit until he reached the change room just _how much _he detested gym. It wasn't that he was out of shape or anything; hell, the only point you could call a kid 'out of shape' was when they spent all day inside playing 'World of Warcraft'.

That would be about... 50% of the developed population. Huh. Either way, he thought to himself as he changed into his shorts and t-shirt for class, he supposed he had never actually attended gym in Japan before... He didn't think it could be TOO different from everything. (When he was in Sapporo, he'd managed to fake an injury... Too late for now he supposed.) Walking outside, he found himself sitting on the edge of the class as they listened to the teacher speak.

"Alright... Is everyone here?" It seemed unlikely that counting everyone without a repeat or a miss in the sea of uniformed children would happen... But somehow, Koroshiya pulled it off, checking off each student for attendance before putting the clipboard down. "Alright! I need everyone to line up in order of height!" The kids began muttering to each other as he blew the whistle to get everyone in line, Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Koji walking or running over to the front while others rushed for the back.

In the end, Kiyoiri and Ayumi were just behind most of the boys in the class, Conan wedged between Hatsu and another classmate; ironically enough, the younger brother of the witness from a prior case, 'Yashiro Kouta'. Now lined up, the kids waited as the teacher came over, nodding before motioning to the small track they had. "Ok... Today, we're going to be doing a lot or running activities. Now before we start, I want everyone to do some stretches; just do as I do, alright?"

A resounding 'HAI!' called out around the track, and in a few minutes each of the students were stretching their legs to prepare for running, many allowing their bodies to run on 'auto pilot' as their minds wandered elsewhere. Kiyoiri's mind wandered off to her friends in the Ekoda district, along with the recent 'Kaitou Kid' heist that was occurring in not Tokyo but Osaka. It was strange for such a thing to happen now- Kid rarely strayed out of Tokyo these days, but, according to Conan, Heiji was more than glad to have an outlet for the recent lack of casework in the area.

Ayumi's mind in the meantime, had her continuously looking off to the side, where the tallest of the class were. Specifically, she was taking glances at Mitsuhiko, who, oddly enough, was stealing glances at her when _she_ wasn't looking. As for their thoughts? Most likely exactly what Genta had given up on, though he was looking down towards most of the girls rather often as well.

In terms of Kira's mind, no one had a clue really. Most likely, it wasn't even in her mind, given that she was continuously referring to someone named 'Kitsusei'.

Koji was bored. So was Hatsu, and likely Kouta. Speaking of Kouta, Conan thought to himself as the class moved on to shoulder stretches, he hadn't been coming to school much lately. He was surprised he was here today actually. There were rumors that he had approached Genta and asked to join the Shonen Tantei... But had been refused over something in second grade, but he hadn't paid that much mind since... Well, Kouta hadn't even been at school lately so really, why bother?

Maybe he would think more on it later... For now however, as stretches finished, the teacher stood, and motioned over to the track. "Now; we'll be going in sets of five! That's 5 groups. Each group will rotate through a series of events. Group one, you will be Genta-kun, Koji-kun, Mitsuhiko-kun..." As the teacher listed off the groups, Conan found himself staring off until Kouta nudged his shoulder.

"Psst... Edogawa-kun..." Conan looked beside him, and the frail looking boy gestured over to the sand pits. "We're doing running long jump. Come on." As he looked around, Conan noted that he, Kouta, and Hatsu were in the same group, along with two others from the class. Nodding, he followed the boy to the sand pits, while other groups began their own events.

Koji and the other 'tall ones' for example, were about to get started on the 100 meter dash. The silver haired boy seemed quite confident that he would make it... But all the same, made sure not to feel 'too' confident. Standing on the line, he watched as, by the long-distance track, Koroshiya blew the whistle and sent 'group two' off. The teacher then sent the obstacle course (Group four; Kiyoiri, Kira, Ayumi, and the two shortest boys in class.) on their way, and came over to their own area.

"Alright... On the whistle, ready?" The kids took their places, Mitsuhiko and Genta attempting to mimic Koji's own racer's position. "Set...."

-TWEEEEEEET!-

Dust flew up in Koroshiya's face, and the man coughed, waving a hand in front of his face. Looking towards the finish, he watched as Koji came just ahead of a gasping Mitsuhiko, the two other boys coming in behind with Genta. As the five collapsed, Koroshiya walked over and laughed lightly. "Ahaha... You five can rest until the rotation, alright?" A weak thumbs up was given from the boy beside Koji, and Koroshiya walked off to see how long jump was going.

Said jump was down to the last two boys, Kouta having just finished making his leap to an 'average' 2.5 meters. As the teacher walked over, the kids turned, Koroshiya coughing as the dust from that jump cleared. "You've all been keeping track of your jumps right?" The kids nodded, and he quickly got the numbers from those who had gone. "Alright; make sure everyone goes twice understand? Go!"

As Conan made his own jump (just a little further than Kouta), he briefly wondered what would happen if he changed his weight slightly... Birds had hollow bones, making it easier to fly after all. So, with bones making up 14% of his body weight... The boy watched as Hatsu made his jump, making it just slightly further before walking to go behind Conan in line. Looking ahead, Conan mentally shrugged; alright, why not? It wouldn't cause too much trouble right? Hell, the record for nine year old long jump was 4.5 meters; it wasn't as though he'd make it that far...

It was his turn again. He was already having a bit of trouble keeping his balance with hollow bones, but, focusing, he took off on his run, feet scarcely hitting the ground as he went. His left foot hit the block for jump off... His right foot pushed off of it...

"N-No way...." Kouta, who had been up to hold the measuring tape, looked from Conan's heels to the wood block and back up at Conan. "F-Four.... Four meters... That's..." Conan as well went pale; that was a full meter and a half difference, what the hell?!

...Sheesh, how much a difference did that little change in weight make?? Walking back to wait for the groups to switch over as he held the numbers in his head, still more being calculated. If he weighed around 58 pounds regularly, 14 percent of that would be about 8 pounds. That would mean he only took off about 4, maybe 5 pounds though by hollowing his bones... He shook his head, expression mirroring Koroshiya's as the teacher recorded the boy's radically differing numbers. "Ah.. Alright then," he said, coughing as he turned to look at the remaining two groups, 'Group Five' having long since finished their 500 meter run. "Just wait here while I check on the others guys... The first rotation should be in just a little bit, alright?" Conan was more than glad when the teacher left, taking a seat beneath the large oak tree there. Man... 5 pounds...

Over at the obstacle course, the kids were busy charging through, though Kira looked slightly more 'graceful', sand covered as she was. It was, indeed, rather interesting what the change in clothes did however, especially considering what she normally wore. No longer wearing her hat, oversized straight jacket, and baggy pants, her hair had been pulled back to keep from dragging in the ground. Had it not been for the fact that her eyes were covered with a milky film in fact she... Looked like a normal, everyday girl.

By the time Koroshiya arrived, Kiyoiri had just finished the obstacle course, Kira and Ayumi coming up behind her, while the boys lagged further back. It was understandable, the standings, especially when one considered the obstacle courses that Kiyoiri had normally gone through almost two years prior...

Lets face it, Beika had nothing on Section F's three floor mountain. Logging in times and standings, Koroshiya told them to take a rest, before checking on the 1500 meter runners. Almost an hour later, the whistle blew for the final group rotation. While Koji's group went over to the Long Jump, Conan's group headed for the dreaded 1500 meter run. Standing at the start line, the kids took their positions, Hatsu visibly 'glaring' at the track ahead.

-TWEEEEEEEEET!!!-

Sneakers skidded across the ground as they took off, resembling migrating geese in the 'V' formation. Kouta held the lead, Hatsu and Conan close behind as the other two in the group hung further back. One lap around the track was 250 meters; and though they seemed fine at the moment, after 750 it was quite apparent that energy was running low.

The kids breathing was laboured as they rounded the track again, faces pale and sweaty, mouths hanging open and eyes half closed. Neither was ready to give up however, each one with hopes of either getting things over with, or at least coming in 'first'. 1000 meters passed... Conan began dropping back a bit, though Hatsu and Kouta were still going strong.

1250... Kouta almost hazarded a look back, but managed to steel himself and keep running, swallowing as he kept up his pace.

1350... The two boys were neck to neck now, Hatsu's hair flying through the air behind his shoulders and out of his face.

1400... Hatsu's eyes flicked ahead of Kouta, and in a few seconds, the boy ahead of him stumbled slightly.

1450... He charged forwards, taking advantage of the stumble as Kouta hurried back to his speed, arms outstretched as Hatsu continued to run past.

1475... 1478...

-TWEEEEEEET!!!- 1500. Hatsu padded to a stop, grabbing his knees as he wiped his brow, the others behind him soon doing the same. Koroshiya, recording the times, gave the kids a brief thumbs up before continuing with his work, the others who had been waiting cheering for their friends.

A shadow fell over Hatsu, and the boy looked up, standing straight to look at Mitsuhiko. "....What is it, Tsuburaya?" Though the boy seemed a little hurt at the lack of familiarity, he seemed otherwise unaffected, handing Hatsu a bottle of water.

"You seem really out of breath... The others are already fine, so I got you some water." He looked at his 'friend' worriedly, before continuing. "Will you be alright...?"

Hatsu took the bottle, blinking with mild surprise. Hn... He'd noticed the difference between his breathing and the others? Or was it something else that gave it away? And here he thought he was a good actor... "...I'll be fine," he said as he unscrewed the lid to take a sip. "I'm just not used to running like that."

Mitsuhiko nervously smiled. "Alright... We have relay before this class ends though, so you might want to get ready..."

He received a weak nod in response, and rubbed the back of his head. Ohhhh boy...

* * *

By the end of the day, a majority of the class was completely shot in terms of energy. Stumbling out into the entrance hall to change their shoes, most of the kids appeared to be half-dead, and there were no exceptions among the Shonen Tantei. Genta even forgot to check the box for cases he was so tired, while Ayumi and Mitsuhiko barely glanced at each other as they left.

In fact, it was likely that, had Conan's shoes not actually fallen from the cubby to his head, he would not have noticed the note in _his_ shoe.

Though it wasn't until later, after he'd stopped by the Detective Agency, that he'd realized just what sort of message the note brought... And while he was busy doing this, those at his old house were busy waiting for him.

Speaking of the house... It was Koji's sheer dumb luck that it was that from that day that Akai was to be gone for the week. However, that same luck seemed to backfire on him at the moment, as while pointing the wii mote in his hands at the screen, he found himself sighing.

"....How the hell did you get in my house Shiroku..."

Hatsu, who was leaning over the side of the couch, merely smirked. "The front door was open... I assumed you were just too lazy to answer any one knocking..."

"...I should be calling you for breaking and entering..."

"Only entering Hisoka- Your door was unlocked."

Koji merely rolled his eyes, moving the wii mote again. "It's still trespassing."

While the sounds of a barking wolf sounded through the room from the T.V., Hatsu merely chuckled, smirk widening. "Whatever you say..."

And again, Koji sighed. Why, of all times, did Megane have to be late _now_?

* * *

AN: Ahahaha! Yea. It's even SHORTER. Know why? Because when I finished it, I realized that adding the 'second half' would completely ruin the flow of things... So yea. This is a sort of the 'end' of the 'first half' so to speak... You'll see why in the next chapter.

Reviews make me a happy Usagi! And many thanks go to all of you who added this to your alerts!! *loves on*


	5. Chapter 4

**The Eight Tests**

_He feels nothing but endless pain. But through the pain, he can still see. Through the pain, he can still hear. He hears many things... Mutterings of a language foreign to his, a language he needs to learn. He hears mutterings of life from death. Mutterings of immortality. And finally, mutterings of the loss of their 'last' experiment._

_But he still lives, albeit barely, and he absorbs this information carefully._

_He knows where he is. He is in Japan, in a building disguised as a temple for none other than the royal family. Or at least, he is in the deeper sanctums of it. He has been captured by the same group that he came across for his last case... And most of those experimenting on him are either British or Japanese, with extensive knowledge in both chemistry and biology as well as firearms in general. One of the ones who he has seen attaching tubes to his body appears as a woman from behind, with long brown hair reaching his waist. They do not call him anything... But they look up to this man, not out of respect, but of fear._

_As faces from the past and present blur, in both age and colour, we return, 100 years later... To the future._

* * *

As he sat on the couch beside Koji, Hatsu couldn't help but marvel at the fact that, yet again, he had hit the rare moment in life where one encounters a person who is almost identical in appearance to another one has met previously. Silently staring at the boy as he continued on the wii, Hatsu watched as Koji gradually became more and more ticked with the rather uncomfortable silence.

Not to mention the endless staring. (Seriously, Koji thought, what the hell was he staring at?) "...Where exactly did you get the funds for this, Hisoka?" It wasn't actually that unknown that Akai wasn't really Koji's guardian. In fact, it was known to most of the class that, aside from this, the man had only recently moved into the house, and Koji had been there almost half a year longer. So... Where _had _he gotten the money for a Wii system?

"...Relatives." This was all Koji said as he continued painting a moon in the sky on the game. Had Conan been there, 'relatives' could possibly make a few changes in his mind. Relatives would move to 'cover story relatives' to 'dead cover story relatives' to 'dead cover story relatives from the Organization' to the even longer 'dead cover story relatives with open bank accounts I was given the account number to.'

Koji would however retaliate by saying no, he hadn't commandeered Tenshi's bank account and used it for a Wii system, Shindou had actually given him this thing for christmas... While Kiyoiri gave him the exact same game that caused them so much hell during the summer. But... He had to admit, as the wolf on screen successfully killed the eight headed snake, it was... Actually kind of fun. And a good way to waste time.

…Now if only that damn brat beside him would stop staring. Taking advantage of the cutscene going on at the moment, the boy took the time to turn and glare at Hatsu. "..."

"Edogawa hasn't arrived, so I assumed you wouldn't mind me watching..." That smirk... Was really obnoxious. The sound of Susanno, from the game, laughing even more obnoxiously, convinced Koji not to respond to that, the boy choosing instead to guide the character around the now celebrating village of the game. "...You know," Hatsu began to say, Koji's eyebrow visibly twitching. "You actually remind me of someone..."

Koji blinked. "...I do?" Though he had the 'I could care less' expression on his face, Hatsu seemed to note that Koji's pride was currently saying 'oh oh oh... Who was it???'.

He nodded. "Someone I hate."

The boy went pale, and scowled, returning to the game screen and taking his frustrations out on a nearby tree. Poor tree.

Suddenly, the door to the house slammed close, and Koji abruptly pulled up the fan-menu and turned off the T.V. screen, hiding the wii-mote just as Conan came into the room. Hatsu seemed to chuckle at this, before looking over at Conan. "You're late to your own meeting... That's not often a good sign..." The glasses wearing boy frowned.

"I had to deal with something quickly... Sorry..." Was he holding something back, Koji wondered? "Listen.. Shiroku... We need to talk can you... Could you come over here?" Hatsu and Koji looked at each other, before the former nodded, and hopped off the couch.

"Sure..." Hands in his pockets, he walked over, smirk no longer on his face, but all the same, visible in his eyes. "What is it, Edogawa?"

* * *

So. Here they were now, Conan thought as he mentally went over his note yet again, here they were on the subway...

Crammed among multitudes of other people near the door... Like sardines... They eventually got off the subway and out into the streets, the pair stopping on a bench inside a nearby cafe; it was raining, and really, walking in a crowd in the rain wasn't that fun. The boys had been aiming for the library to tell the truth... But at the moment, being pressurized in a subway had taken a bit of energy out of them, and sitting on the bench seemed a little more healthy for the moment... Especially with that rain out there.

Eventually, rather than getting up to continue to the library, Conan found himself turning to Hatsu with a question. "So... You're from Sapporo right? Why come to Tokyo?" The boy turned, blinking at Conan's question before turning his head back to the street. Eyes shut, Hatsu remained silent for a short time, Conan wondering if this was a harsh subject. However....

"It was too cold... And I was beginning to get sick of being known for living in the 'Ramen Capital'." Ok... That was bullshit, he was pretty sure, but... He couldn't really call him on it with no proof really.

Instead, he decided, it might be an idea to continue talking. He would probably know a lot about him by the end of the day really, if this note was right. Nodding, he chose to branch off from the 'ramen capital' point. "Hn... 'Sapporo Ichiban Ramen'... I suppose you're pretty sick of anything with noodles for that reason then?" That same company was known world wide for 'instant noodle soup' actually... So really, that might have been a small part of the reason he left after all.

Hatsu shook his head, smirking. "No... I think soba is still rather good to tell the truth." Ooh. Soba. Thick noodles. Those were pretty good depending on where you ate them though...

Which brought the same question he'd asked earlier again. "So... Tokyo? I mean..." He looked up, before turning back to Hatsu. "There are better places..." Screw nationalism; Tokyo was smoggy and crowded, and definitely not as nice as cities like Kyoto. Though there were plenty of places better than Kyoto as well...

"It was cheaper than where my other options were, so, I was sent here." Sent? Right... That just made it sound like he was booted from someone's house...

Shaking his head, he leaned back on the bench, before Hatsu's voice caught his attention.

"What about you, Edogawa?" He turned, eyes half closed and seemingly annoyed or perhaps bored. "Your parents supposedly left you here in Japan with their own friend, who had to go to a completely different person. And they're alright with that now?"

Conan stiffened slightly, but he responded. "It was... Rough to start. We settled it." Technically he wasn't lying... Being kidnapped by your parents as a show of what could happen was rough. And the matter was settled. So there. "Things are a bit busy over there so... Yea." Read, he never lived there, and he would much rather make sure the people he knew now didn't die because of something he did HERE while he was in the states. Selfless? To some maybe. Mostly he was just scared thinking about that.

New topic. Pulling out the note he'd had in his pocket, Conan bit the inside of his lip. "Shiroku... Where exactly are you from...?"

Hatsu blinked. Oh... Someone was actually questioning him now. Most assumed that it was his parents in Sapporo, regardless of the fact that he was so clearly no Japanese. Probably the name, but really... He shrugged, looking back out the window at the grey streets and crowds. "I've lived here as far as I know... But I can at least say with honesty that my background is likely European..."

Yeaaaaa that narrowed things down. Not. The boy had more to say it seemed though, as he looked over at the counter in the cafe. "...Do you think they want us to order something," he said with a smirk, nodding his head towards it. Conan looked over, stiffling a laugh as he caught the cashiers and janitor turn away guiltily, the group pretending to chat about a new movie that had come out.

Still trying not to laugh, the boy shook his head as he got of the bench. "We mind as well eat something," he said as he walked over, looking at the menu on the wall. "I'll pay if you want." He didn't really know if Hatsu actually had any money on him so... He mind as well be nice rather than eat something in front of the boy's face (That was just rude... Plus, he was hungry, so chances were, Hatsu was as well.).

The boy shook his head, firm in his already made decision. "No- I'm not hungry. I ate something at Hisoka's." Did he now...? But.. There were no crumbs on his shirt, or by the couch, and judging by Koji's expression when he'd gotten there before, Hatsu had been on that couch for a while. Though just what they were doing was beyond him (probably pretending to play the game Kiyoiri got him to make her happy or something) to tell the truth...

But hey, he wasn't about to force him to buy something. Turning to the counter, he bought himself a sandwich and brought it back to the bench they were sitting at before.

Who was he to argue about his eating habits really...

* * *

They eventually did make it to the library; after Conan had finished the sandwich, they went out into the rain and set off... Resembling wet rats by the time they got to the library itself (though Koji would likely have said 'birds', just to throw in that ruffled feathers comment...). They managed to get slightly dry in the end, wringing their jackets out in the washroom and making do with everything else.

Sitting down at an empty table in the library, Conan pulled out the note that he'd asked to meet Hatsu there about, holding it out to him. "Alright... It'll probably be easier to figure this out here..." He couldn't believe that the riddle in the note stumped him this bad... "I... I need your help on this though."

Hatsu seemed to smirk, crossing his arms. "Really?" Watching as Conan nodded, he blinked, smirk disappearing. "....Why?"

"Read the note and see for yourself... I found it in my shoe after school." The note was passed across the table, and, sitting up, Hatsu read over it carefully.

_To the following; Shiroku Hatsu and Edogawa Conan._

_Below you will find the first of a series of challenges to determine the true 'Heisei Holmes'. There are eight in total, each one more challenging than the first. Each challenge has a specific purpose. Whoever completes these challenges without the direct aid of another, unless specifically requested by these notes, will fail to succeed. The decision to take the challenges is yours._

_Here is your first clue; the kanji below will point you to one single person, who will hold the location of the next clue, should you ask the question 'What is your favorite thing to eat on a sandwich?'. Good luck in your first challenge, under the Seal of Knowledge._

Though the note was brief, the 'clue' was briefer. The kanji for 'fruit', or 'mi'. Hatsu looked back up at Conan who was still frowning. "Any luck," he said, skepticism not at all present in his eyes. The earlier conversation had already clued Conan in to the fact that Hatsu was at least 'smarter' than most... As if most of the classes in school hadn't proven that enough already.

Hatsu however, said nothing for a moment, before shaking his head. "Nothing; what did you try so far?"

The boy sighed, crossing his arms and standing up. "So far I've looked at the names of everyone I know... No one has that kanji in their name. I tried comparing it to the things about them as well, their addresses and such, but I came up with nothing there as well..."

"Hn... We could try with hiragana I suppose..."

Conan blinked. "Hiragana..." But there were over 500 different kanji that used only the hiragana 'mi'! How was he supposed to match it to one in a single person's name? The number would still be too high! Frowning again, he listened as Hatsu went on.

"...Edogawa?" The boy coughed, Conan looking up with confusion. "On our way back... Could I take you up on that offer for something from the cafe? They had some cake..." Oh. Now he was hungry? Well that was great... Did Hatsu just eat at random times or what? And why cake, did he have a sweet tooth or-

Sweet. He pulled the paper out from Hatsu's hands, the boy blinking with surprise as Conan whipped a pen out from his pocket and began scribbling notes on the back of it. Sweet. 'Mi', or fruit was considered 'sweet'. In the english language, there was a name for one of the fish in Japan, that name being 'Sweetfish'. It was a fish that lived for around a single year, and was known for its sweet tasting flesh. A sweetfish was, in its native country, also called an 'Ayu'...

Mi... Ayu... Ayu... Mi...

Ayumi. The answer was Yoshida Ayumi. Hatsu leaned over the table as Conan stared at the paper, smirking. The former simply looked up with half-lidded eyes, blinking. "...That was quick..." The boy moved as Conan rolled the note up, smirk still in place.

"I guess... We'll have to work on this more tomorrow however." He turned to the window, where the rain had stopped, but the sky had become dark. "Alright?"

Hatsu nodded, and a few minutes later they went their separate ways. Walking home, Conan had a frown on his face as he went over a few other thoughts, things that did not concern the note, or Sapporo. Who... Who was Hatsu.

The boy hadn't said anything when he didn't continue on the conversation of food, and walked off without a word in the end after it had been suggested. He just 'happened' to mention cake- Which had been the exact trigger to get him on the right track for the note. Though it did not take long for him to get back to the detective agency, and for him to get ready for bed, those paranoid thoughts sat with him for a good portion of the night...

That smirk was practically burned into his skull it was...

* * *

Though they had indeed said 'tomorrow', it turned out, in the end, that this was not the case. Tuesday he was pulled off by the decision between a case Kogoro had come up (it looked interesting...) and the note, the former winning out by a long shot. Wednesday he was pulled off to the Kame Game shop by Kiyoiri, who demanded that he and Koji both come to see the official test of the 'Cocoon Beta', which would be able to emulate games from older and technically outdated systems. Though Conan manged to get out of it early, he was unable to find Hatsu for the rest of the evening.

Thursday it was so rainy that Kogoro even insisted he stay inside with no visitors. Friday, though the rain died down, Agasa had something he wanted to speak to Conan about... Along with Koji. It seemed that the old man had recently come up with a new invention, though, since it exploded before the boys got in, they chose not to go any further. (And of course, having no way to contact Hatsu outside of school, Conan could not obviously find the boy to work with him on the notes.)

This of course meant that, when he did not call or appear to Conan on the weekend, that going further was still impossible. Finally however, Monday arrived, and, after school, Hatsu and Conan both went after Ayumi, the latter hoping they would catch her alone. He was really not in the mood to go through the other's questions on the obscure question he needed to ask.

"Ah-... Ayumi-chan!" The girl turned as he waved his arm and came over, Hatsu walking calmly behind.

She turned to the other two boys beside her, nodding her head back. "You guys keep going ok? I'll catch up!"

"Ah, but Ayumi-chan-" At the girl's frown, Genta gulped, before nodding. "R-Right! Come on, she said she'd catch up!" He half-dragged Mitsuhiko away with him, and Ayumi turned back to Conan and Hatsu.

"What is it, Conan-kun?" The girl was smiling, as usual, and did not seem the least surprised at the fact that Hatsu had (for once) joined them after school.

Conan simply watched the other two boys disappear, before speaking. "Ah... We had a question. Ayumi-chan... What do you normally put on your toast?" He knew it wasn't exact but... Oh well.

Ayumi blinked a bit, freezing slightly. "Toast...? Eh... marmalade, but... Why are you asking?"

"Eh... No reason really just asking..." There was an awkward silence after this, but, when Ayumi finally left with the excuse that she needed to catch up to the others (thus breaking the silence), he at least had his next clue.

The location that it would be... Would have the kanji with the sound 'kan', for orange, the fruit in marmalade. The only problem with that was...

There were as many kanji for 'kan' as there were for 'mi'.

* * *

AN: And so it begins.... I'm adding something to the 'contest' I'm having in terms of the chapter titles. If you can guess it before I post Chapter 8... Then who ever does so can request any scene they want for me to draw. Some good (and recent) art of mine can be found here if you remove the spaces; http : // s5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ Be sure to browse the first two pages for an idea of how I draw... As I draw in multiple different styles (Also requestable in this case.) The picture will be completely coloured and shaded, same with the background, so I wish you all luck! Send in your guesses (It's from both a video game series and a T.V./Anime series!) through reviews!

Usagi out!

(On a side note, there's a bit of an inside joke for the scene with Koji playing 'Okami'; basically, one day I was watching my friend feed tigers in the game, and I jokingly said (as she skipped the scene) that Koji would never skip it being a 'closet tiger fan'. Somehow this grew into him never skipping the scene for any animal, which turned into 'Clearly Koji is a closet Okami fan'. Expect this joke to be exploited often.)

Don't be afraid to correct me on things, especially in terms of Japanese! ... Or even marmalade. .___.


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